Minimum Wage/Rent by US State

[bricolage]

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0z75kpS5T1roos5xo1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId =AKIAJ6IHWSU3BX3X7X3Q&Expires=1332425781&Signature=P4jslrjr6TJ%2FOO5YBVlB7h8G2rI%3D

The rent is too damn high.

[Conscript]

Me and my 2 friends could barely afford ours, in new jersey btw. I don't even understand why its so high.

[bricolage]

Me and my 2 friends could barely afford ours, in new jersey btw. I don't even understand why its so high.
after DC new jersey seems to the second highest.

how does minimum wage work in america, is it all set by state or is there a national level? also can bosses factor potential tips into how much they pay you?

[southernmissfan]

after DC new jersey seems to the second highest.

how does minimum wage work in america, is it all set by state or is there a national level? also can bosses factor potential tips into how much they pay you?

It does vary to some degree based on state and job. And yes, the employee's wage AND tips equal out minimum wage supposedly. So here, where the minimum wage is 7.25, many wait staff and other tipped employees only receive 2-3 dollars in wages. Legally, if you don't make enough tips to make your total earnings per hr equal to the minimum wage, the company is supposed to cover the difference with additional wages. In practice, anyone who routinely (or even not so routinely) does not receive enough tips will be laid off or have hours cut.

[A Revolutionary Tool]

I couldn't get a shitty apartment with somebody even though after rent we would still have more than a few hundred dollars left over. The person told us we needed to make triple the rent for us to be accepted! With both of us making minimum wage! Yeah good luck with that :rolleyes:

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Rent is absurd to be sure; me and my family had to move in with another family because the bills became too much to cope with. Even with splitting bills with this other family we both are just barely managing.

[Psy]

It does vary to some degree based on state and job. And yes, the employee's wage AND tips equal out minimum wage supposedly. So here, where the minimum wage is 7.25, many wait staff and other tipped employees only receive 2-3 dollars in wages. Legally, if you don't make enough tips to make your total earnings per hr equal to the minimum wage, the company is supposed to cover the difference with additional wages. In practice, anyone who routinely (or even not so routinely) does not receive enough tips will be laid off or have hours cut.
This is why wait staff really need to unionize with a militant labor union like the I.W.W like some Starbucks staff have done.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Whilst this might be true, why would 1 person on minimum wage be buying a 2 bed apartment?

What i'd like to see is how many hours a couple would each have to work to buy a 1 bed apartment and a 2 bed apartment.

Also, do you guys in the US have council/social housing? If so, how do those rates compare to 'market' rates?

[A Revolutionary Tool]

Also, do you guys in the US have council/social housing? If so, how do those rates compare to 'market' rates?
I'm not so sure what council/social housing means, I think we have it but we don't call it that. Anyways the ones I'm thinking about that would be considered social housing are very cheap. The person I was looking for apartments with and I looked at some of these apartments and they were soooo cheap. Like $375, which is cheap for a 2 bedroom and they are actually nice places. Problem is there is a 2 year waiting period for an opening.

[Red Rabbit]

I can't seem to be able to view the picture. Anyone else having this issue?

[A Revolutionary Tool]

I can't seem to be able to view the picture. Anyone else having this issue?
Yeah it disappeared for some reason.

[NoPasaran1936]

I'm not so sure what council/social housing means, I think we have it but we don't call it that. Anyways the ones I'm thinking about that would be considered social housing are very cheap. The person I was looking for apartments with and I looked at some of these apartments and they were soooo cheap. Like $375, which is cheap for a 2 bedroom and they are actually nice places. Problem is there is a 2 year waiting period for an opening.

Council housing is state-owned housing which they rent out, tends to be lower rates than the market.
Social housing is slightly different, it's not entirely owned by the state, local authorities and some private businesses provide cheaper housing. But stock is incredibly low since the 1980s when Thatcher thought it'd be a good idea to sell council housing to the tenants then not build any more.

I know she's an ultra-capitalist, but even from a capitalist point of view in an economical sense, there needs to be a decent amount of council housing to ensure that housing bubbles do not grow and pop so quickly.

[Left Leanings]

Finding decent, affordable accommodation is a real problem now, both here in the UK and for our American cousins.

I am fairly lucky, having a 1-bedroom flat, with my rent covered by Housing Benefit, and my Council Tax covered my benefits as well.

And it took me quite a while to be offered this place, despite having maximum 'medical points', which ensured I was treated as a priority in allocation of properties.

The flat used to be owned by the council (local government), but has recently been taken over by an housing association. Rents have already gone up, with the increases being small for the next six years or so.

After that, the housing association will have a freer reign in the rent increases. There is already concern that the rents, over time, could reach market value. And Housing Benefit would not cover that, only part of it.

The waiting lists for council/social housing are horrendous, even for priority cases. Lots of people are coming out of university with student loans to pay off, and are unable to find accommodation.

There are young (and indeed, older people), who are both in employment, and they cannot afford a place of their own, either renting or buying. They have to live with their folks, even with a baby on the way, in many cases.

No wonder the homeless shelters are full, and people are down and out on the streets.

[Decommissioner]

I would say one benefit to living where I do is we have low rent. I was floored by how much my friends in chicago pay for their dinky apartment. Seems like rent is being jacked up in big cities and coastal areas. I currently rent a two bed house with a basement that is pretty much a whole other house in and of itself.

[Red Commissar]

I'm not so sure what council/social housing means, I think we have it but we don't call it that. Anyways the ones I'm thinking about that would be considered social housing are very cheap. The person I was looking for apartments with and I looked at some of these apartments and they were soooo cheap. Like $375, which is cheap for a 2 bedroom and they are actually nice places. Problem is there is a 2 year waiting period for an opening.

In the US they're usually called 'projects'. There's also Section 8 housing that falls into this category.

In Texas, one thing that bothers me are utilities. Housing cost on its own isn't bad (that being said it can be bad if you're on minimum wage, seeing as Texas doesn't alter it from the federal minimum.), it's the utilities that can kill during the summer. Plus property taxes which cities rely in a lot due to no state income tax.

[lombas]

I can't really compare, actually. Over here, the majority of people own their house and don't rent.

For the time being, my GF and myself are still renting (looking to buy something in a couple of years). I'd say the rent takes about 15-20% of our joint income.

With that, we're in the center of town, relatively quiet, good public transport, third (upper) floor, 90 m², two bedrooms.

What's it like over "there"?